Over 500 hearty souls took part in our first February Super Guadalupe River 10K/5K/1K Run. Not only did walkers and runners earn their guacamole on the Guadalupe, they helped break the drought! Mark your calendars for next year's run -- Sunday, February 1st. Photos can be found here and results here.

Save the Date - Window on the River Park

Our annual Window on the River Park reception will be held Thursday, June 5th and, for the third consecutive year, is being hosted by Adobe Systems, Inc. This event is the culmination of our annual fundraising campaign and is our largest source of unrestricted funds. Many thanks to early sponsors Adobe, Terry & Carol Austen, Berger Lewis Accountancy Corp., Boston Properties, Focus Business Bank, Petrinovich Pugh and Co., S and S Flooring, Brandon Steene, Swinerton Builders, Tibbets & Lewis, and ValleyCrest. Invitations will be mailed in early April. Click here for more info.

Adopt a Rose

Many thanks to Shurra's for the donated chocolate, Citti's Florist for the rose-a-month premium, and Catered Too! for the delicious cookie -- these generous local businesses helped make Valentine's Day our most successful yet! We'll offer the gift box again for Mother's Day, May 11th -- get your orders in soon.

Donor Walkway

A paver or bench plaque in the Donor Walkway at Arena Green makes a lasting gift to honor or remember someone special in your family, business, or social circle. This enduring tribute is also a great, tax-deductible way to support park development. Click here for more info.

Rails-to-Trails Grant

We are pleased to announce that we are a recipient of funding through Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's partnership with Coca-Cola North America. The $3,800 grant will be used to purchase tools, refreshments, and shirts for volunteers participating in trail maintenance and a soon-to-launch trail ambassador program. This is the catalyst we've needed to get our trail ambassador program up and running. Please contact Jessica if you are interested in participating.

River Clean Ups

In February we hosted 4 river clean ups; a big thanks to California San Jose Mission, San Jose State's Alpha Phi Omega, IBI Group, and Boy Scouts' Wolf troop 399. All together, these groups collected 49 bags of trash pulling an estimated 1,225 pounds of trash from the river; that's almost the average weight of a horse! We offer both private and public river clean up dates. River clean-ups not only help keep our river and bay clean but they also function as a great team build opportunity for groups and the community. Our next public river clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, April 19th from 8:30- 11:30 AM. RSVP is required and you can find the sign-up sheet here.

Volunteer CornerA hearty thanks to all the volunteer groups that toiled to make GRPG a more beautiful place this past December:

Alpha Phi Omega
Americorps
California San Jose Mission
De Anza College International Student Volunteers
Evergreen Valley High School
Hands on Bay Area
Master Gardeners of SCC
Homestead High School National Honor Society
IBI Group
iHeart Independence High School
Irvington Change Project
Mission Bay
Morgan Autism Center
National Charity League
Oak Grove High School AFJROTC
Oak Grove High School Interact Club
One Brick

And that is only the groups! We also appreciate the scores of individuals who come out weekly to make a difference.

Meet Volunteer Michael ViramontesMichael joined us in the fall after hearing about our internship opportunities. As a trail user and 4th year environmental studies student at San Jose State, Michael found the Conservancy to be a perfect match; he strives to work at an organization just like GRPC after graduation. Michael has been an asset to the education team, and with his positive can-do attitude has expanded his role. Among other tasks, he is currently working to develop our Flora & Fauna webpage, which will launch soon. He is a great addition to our internship program, and we are looking forward to his continued success. Thank you Michael!

Legacy Giving

Why Should You Include a Charitable Gift in Your Will (Or Living Trust)?

It’s simple to do. It can be as easy as including language stating, "I give $20,000 to Guadalupe River Park Conservancy."

You can change your mind. We won’t receive the gift until after your death. During your lifetime, you can amend anything you choose, i.e., beneficiaries, amounts, etc.

Tax-wise, it could be beneficial. Gifts to qualified charitable organizations reduce the value of your estate for estate tax purposes.

It’s an easy way to support Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and we’d be grateful for your gift. Bequests of every size build our future financial strength.

Saturdays through April 5th
8:30 am to 9:30 am
Age 18 and up
$30/members, $40/non-members

Burst out of winter with a new walking series! Join fitness instructors KristinStrellis and JanetSchumacher for our 6-week Spring Walking Series. Step by step, you'll be healthier as you walk the paved trails along the Guadalupe River. Learn proper stretches, toning exercises, and walking technique as you meet others who enjoy exercising outdoors along the way. Varied fitness levels will be offered. Click here to sign up.

Building and installing a birdhouse is not as simple as it may seem. The location of your residence, the layout of your garden or patio, and the birdhouse's design and size all factor into the habitability of a birdhouse. If you'd like to study the art of building birdhouses, come to an adult workshop on March 18th, led by Mike Azevedo, County Coordinator for Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's Cavity Nester Recovery Program. Check out this interview with Mike in Bay Nature. Click here to sign up.

Saturday, March 15th
10:00am to 12:00pm
All Ages
$10/members, $15/non-members

Have you ever been out for a walk and wondered if any of the plants around you could make it to your dinner plate? Join our urban foraging enthusiast friends Dion Kardaris and Jeremy Dalton for a two-hour workshop on finding and cooking edible weeds. Dion and Jeremy will teach participants how to identify edible plants and then lead the class on a foragingexcursion around the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. Finally, the class will come back to the Visitor Center to cook up some of the fruits of their labor. This class is open to all ages; minors must be accompanied by an adult. Click here to sign up.

Wednesdays from March 19th to April 23rd
6:30pm to 8:30pm
$60/members, $70/non-members

Did you know that our Mediterranean climate is perfect for year-round gardens? Join Master Gardener Dee Brown for an exciting six-week series about sustainablevegetablegardening! Learn how to grow a successful, environmentally responsible food garden that produces delicious vegetables and herbs every month of the year. Topics include: soil preparation, amendments, and fertilizers; irrigation methods and systems; working with both seeds and seedlings; sustainable drought strategies; requirements of specific warm and cool season crops and varieties that do well in our area; and how to identify and manage common pests, weeds, and diseases of vegetable crops in Santa Clara County. Click here to sign up.

Have you been considering exploring the Guadalupe River Trail but reluctant to go on your own? GRPC and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority are teaming up to offer a leisurelyfamilybiketour. Enjoy the scenery and learn about the history and wildlife of the Guadalupe River. Click here to learn more.

Start your garden out on the right foot! Greenhouses are not just for the winter; join us and Master Gardener Sharon Johnson for this workshop to about the many seasonal uses of cold frames and greenhouses. Participants will learn an easy way to build a cold frame or mini greenhouse as a place to start your seeds, acclimatize your nursery plants before setting them in your garden, as a place to keep the plants you don't have time to plant, or to start seedlings for an earlier harvest. With hands on participation, you will learn how easy it is to make a cold frame with a few tools and a little time. Click here to learn more.